The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake was recently released for the Nintendo Switch 2 console. The new title received numerous positive reviews from players and high scores from critics. However, there is at least one person who sees systemic issues in the project and is dissatisfied that Nintendo did not fix them.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps and No Rest for the Wicked creator Thomas Mahler played the Ocarina of Time remake and decided to speak out on social media. According to the developer, Nintendo should have overhauled Hyrule Field — he dislikes the fact that it is empty:
Try this game design exercise: draw a top-down map of Hyrule Field, divide it into a grid, and try to pinpoint what interesting gameplay mechanics are present in each cell. You will quickly realize that basically almost nothing happens there… And yes, Hyrule Field looks prettier now, but it is just as empty and uninteresting as it was in the original.
As a good example of world density, Thomas Mahler cites the original Zelda and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, where “every screen concealed a secret or had something you could interact with.”
Whereas in Ocarina of Time, Mahler explains, the player can “do nothing at all for two minutes — just hold the analog stick tilted forward”:
There was already a purely visual update before — Ocarina of Time 3D, so… did we really need another one? What happened to Nintendo’s principle of only releasing a new game when they come up with new ways to play? From a game design standpoint, there was HUGE potential here, and I am very disappointed that Nintendo’s designers seemingly decided not to unleash their creative craft.
As a result, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time players get “typical open-world expanses that you just have to run across.” Thomas Mahler shared how this location could have been improved:
I would have turned Hyrule Field into a full-fledged world between dungeons, where every area offers engaging opportunities for interaction. And after every dungeon, any newly acquired item should have sparked the feeling of ‘I can’t wait to get back into that world and find out what amazing discoveries are now within my reach.’
In addition, Thomas Mahler commented on the people who hand out high review scores:
I genuinely wish the international gaming press understood game design better, instead of mostly acting like a bunch of graphics-obsessed folks.
Judging by the comments, players do not share Thomas Mahler’s perspective. For instance, user JustDrewD weighed in, arguing that the location was intentionally designed to give players a breather:
If you’re looking for a regular dopamine rush at predictable intervals in a game, what you need isn’t a game, but a shiny ‘one-armed bandit’ that jingles even when you lose. ‘Emptiness’ in a game, movie, song, or visual art serves its purpose. Hyrule Field is merely a breather, not the entire game.
The exclusivity of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is fairly relative. Tech enthusiasts have already managed not only to run the game on a Nintendo Switch 2 emulator, but also to assemble a full-fledged PC port of the game.